Diary of a civil servant + Health | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/series/diary-of-a-civil-servant+society/health
model.DotcomContentType$TagIndex$@49da2b01en-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Mon, 19 Mar 2018 14:58:41 GMT2018-03-19T14:58:41Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
The coalition is in a hurry. But is it going too fast?https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jan/23/coalition-government-in-hurry
The coalition has had to move quickly to reassure a public wary of its reforms – except now we call it 'modernisation'<p>Governments are like sharks. They need to keep moving or they die. For many decades governments have formed a consensus view that strenuous activity, and the appearance of strenuous activity, is the best way to show that you are working hard governing the country. The civil service must balance the farcical tension between real work and the appearance of work. Ministers are frequently distracted from important meetings and forced to spend time visiting places they don't need to visit and launching policies that are already happening just so they look busy.</p><p>Strenuous activity is also the best defence when problems emerge. Ministers can point to all their action to show how they have been working hard to solve the very problem that has just emerged. Nowhere is this more true than with public service reform. Whether it is welfare, education or health, a government that stands still is an easy target. A government moving at speed is harder to hit.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jan/23/coalition-government-in-hurry">Continue reading...</a>Liberal-Conservative coalitionNHSHealthPoliticsWelfareUK newsPublic services policySocietyBenefitsSun, 23 Jan 2011 00:06:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jan/23/coalition-government-in-hurryPhotograph: RICHARD W. BROOKS/AFP/Getty ImagesLike sharks, governments need to keep moving or they die. Photograph: Richard W Brooks/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: RICHARD W. BROOKS/AFP/Getty ImagesLike sharks, governments need to keep moving or they die. Photograph: Richard W Brooks/AFP/Getty ImagesGuardian Staff2011-01-23T00:06:25ZThe NHS funding grenade has exploded in David Cameron's facehttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/dec/19/diary-civil-servant-nhs-funding
The Tories are struggling to honour their pledge to increase the health service budget above inflation<p>With the Christmas recess upon us, ministers are shattered but optimistic. The cabinet is proud of what it has achieved in just seven months. Difficult decisions have been made and painful cuts have started. Last week, councils, courts, schools and the local NHS were told their budgets for next year.</p><p>The spreadsheets make grim reading. Row after row of minuses. Each one represents thousands of workers starting a change process where their jobs could be lost. In January, the same thousands will compete for the remaining posts. The successful ones will be left to cope with increasing demand and fewer people to do the work. The unsuccessful will swell the ranks of the unemployed.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/dec/19/diary-civil-servant-nhs-funding">Continue reading...</a>NHSAndrew LansleyDavid CameronHealthPoliticsUK newsSun, 19 Dec 2010 00:04:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/dec/19/diary-civil-servant-nhs-fundingGuardian Staff2010-12-19T00:04:13Z